Q15: Ruling on mortgages and working as a mortgage-broker

Q16: Home, car, and life insurance

Q17: Examining women for trainee doctors

Q18: Going out clubbing and partying

Q19: Studying Quranic sciences

If one is in a state of wudu' before going to sleep and does dhikr

before sleeping and then has a very clear dream, how seriouslyshould one believe the dream? Is it considered a 'ru'ya?'

Answer:

There are several factors that should be taken into consideration

when evaluating a dream. One of the most important is being ina state of wudu' when possible; others include sleeping on theright side while facing towards the Qiblah, having performedprayer before sleeping, and having done the dhikr requiredbefore going to bed. The level of righteousness and purity abeliever maintains is important in evaluating a dream; gooddreams for a believer are one of 46 parts of Prophet-hood andare called “mubashiraat” as the Prophet salla Allahu ‘alayhiwa'aalihi wasallam says, which means, “bringing good news.”There are other factors which may affect one's vision, such asthe psychological state (e.g. sadness or worries) and/or thephysiological state (e.g. pain or hunger). More credence may begiven to the vision if one is in a “normal” state when it is seen.Bearing all this in mind, it is important to note that not all dreamscan be interpreted; Ibn Seereen, Rahimahu Allah, the well-known authority on dream interpretation, used to interpret onlyone dream out of forty.

The advice of the Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa ‘aalihi wasallam

when we see bad dreams is to slightly spit three times at yourleft side and then say the recommended du'a: “O Allah! I seekrefuge with You from the evil of what I just saw and ask you forthe good of it.” The dream will not harm you, as the Prophet sallaAllahu alayhi wa ‘aalihi wasallam stated; and then the dreamshould be kept a secret, not to be told but to scholars who havethe insight and experience in dream-interpretation. The personwho sees the dream should not attempt to interpret the dream orbe affected by its apparent events; as in most cases, they aresymbols that allude to other realities. It is the job of the scholarsto find the appropriate interpretation through a thread thatconnects the event with its meaning. This thread that hints to theanswer might be religious, social, or simply linguistic derivedfrom the words or from proverbs. Do not worry when you seewhat appears to be “bad dreams” as they may, in fact, carry foryou a lot of good news. “Prophet-hood has ceased; what hasremained is only glad tidings brought through a good dream thata believer sees or is seen for him,” the Prophet salla Allah-ualayhi wa ‘aalihi wasallam says in a sound hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari.

Back to topQuestion 2: by Tahir Saeed

Is it permissible to cast lots in order to make a decision?

Answer:

In order to provide an answer to this question, we need to

specify the type of decisions to which the question is referring.Generally speaking, one has to look at the action to see if it isobligatory or recommended according to the shari'a in whichcase one should not show any hesitation about performing theact; if it is proscribed or disliked, then one has to distancehimself from it without any attempt to foresee whether there beany good in it. If the matter in question is neither incumbent norprohibited, neither recommended nor disliked, and is simplypermissible, then one may find a way to know whether oneshould do it or not. The best way in this regard is to do theistikharah prayer which is an essential tool in our survival kit tobe used throughout our lives whenever we need to makedecisions.

Sometimes the decisions we intend to make may involve other

people, and we do not want to have any prejudice towards thepeople involved, so we need to use another method fordetermining the good for them, which is, in this case, castinglots. To clarify, we may present the following example: Ahmadwants to travel from Syria to do some business; he has twooptions to choose from: either to do business in Egypt or in Italy .He intends to take with him one of his several sons. First of all,he has to seek the shari'a ruling on his trip. If it is for doingbusiness that benefits his country, it is then encouraged; but thetwo options here do not bear the same legal status; if business isthe same, then traveling to an Islamic country is preferred overtraveling to a non-Islamic country for several reasons; thus,casting lots to choose between the two countries would not bevalid. However, when choosing between his sons, in order tomake them all content with his decision, he may cast lottery, andthen take with him the one whose name appears in the lottery.We read in al-Sahih that the Prophet salla Allah-u alayhi wa‘aalihi wasallam used to cast lottery between his wives to decidewhom to take with him when he went for battles. This leadscholars of the Principles of Jurisprudence to consider castinglots (or more precisely “Qur'ah” as known in Arabic), one of thefinal sources of legislation to which a Mujtahid may haverecourse. Our encyclopedic works of Islamic law contain somerare examples of the application of this principle.

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Question 3 : by Imran Ali

Is it obligatory to pray jumu'a prayer in a masjid?

Answer:

Jumu'a prayer is obligatory upon all men except the categories

that are specified in the books of fiqh, such as women andtravelers. There are certain conditions to be observed whenholding Friday prayers in a place, but generally speaking, whenother conditions are fulfilled, the prayer can be held either in amosque or in any building or even in an open space.

Attending Friday prayer for people who are addressed with it is

obligatory according to the Divine words in the Qur'an: “O yewho believe! When called for prayer on Friday, then rush to theremembrance of Allah, and stop selling, for that is better for you,if you really know.” The Prophet salla Allahu alayhi wa ‘aalihiwasallam warned against missing Friday prayers as we read inal-Muwatta: “Anyone who does not attend Friday prayers forthree consecutive weeks, Allah will block his heart.” Fridayprayers cannot be performed individually, and if missed, Dhuhrmust be performed whether within the time or after the time. Iadvise the questioner to study the section on Friday prayer inSalvation of the Soul which is a concise book on fiqh accordingto the Hanafite school of law.

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Question 4:

Asalamu ‘alaykum Sheikh Yaqoubi, I wondered if it would be

possible to receive a breakdown of the course curriculum forstudying Islam in Damascus as I'm interested in starting thecourse when I finish my current degree in 2005. I would also liketo know who teaches the course. Thank you for your time.

Answer:

Asking for the curriculum of the course in Damascus while your

plan is to travel there in two years seems to me too early. If youhave this level of concern about studying the Sacred Knowledge,why do you not travel now to join the school and learn yourDeen? Do you have a guarantee to live until 2005, and do youthink that your university degree is going to help you on the Dayof Judgment? Nothing is better and more rewarding in this lifeand in afterlife and more pleasurable more than seeking theknowledge that brings closer to Allah and His Messenger sallaAllahu alayhi wa ‘aalihi wasallam.

For details of the curriculum of the shari'a courses in Damascus,

you should contact the schools themselves, but beware as theydo not usually write the curriculum in any foreign language. Inaddition, if you do not know Arabic well, then you shouldconsider spending one year studying Arabic in order to be ableto join one of the schools, which, by the way, run for six years.May Allah give you success with your endeavors to study theDeen and protect you from the evil of the Western educationalsystem.

Back to topQuestion 5 : by Sultana Tafadar

In sha Allah, I hope to begin a PhD in Islamic law and anti-

discrimination law in September 2003. The study would be of acomparative nature. I am a human rights lawyer and thus amfamiliar with western concepts of human rights. However, I havenot had the opportunity to study Islamic law in any great detail. Iam however hoping that studying for the PhD will provide mewith the opportunity to do so. A few people have said that itwould not be wise to do so since I do not posses a vast amountof knowledge on Islamic law. I would greatly appreciate youradvice on whether to proceed with the PhD in the chosen areas.I would love to study Islamic law but am worried about picking upthe wrong information.

Answer:

Many Western universities have departments of religious studies

that offer university degrees in Islamic studies. The question toask is what is the goal of their curriculum? Do they intend toserve our Deen and provide our Ummah with ulama who knowthe shari'a? More importantly, do they really even present theIslamic point of view? A look at their curricula and the textbooksand the reference books they use will provide clearly negativeanswer as shari'a cannot be taught by John and George and thelike and their writings. What is also important to examine is themethodology of studies the Western academia follows in itsclaimed quest for knowledge as the most predominant approachto the study of religion in post-modern times is theanthropological and the historical, both of which disregard thesacredness of texts and the impeccability of Prophets. They donot teach our shari'a; rather, they teach about it; they teach itshistory, looking at every text or event with a skeptical eye, andinstead of showing conviction when firm belief is needed, theybring up their speculations instead. The result is disastrous:destruction of the foundations of Islamic Law, corruption of thestudents, and brainwashing the minds of Muslim students; allthis is done under the name of “subjectivity.” I have visitedseveral Western universities wherein I met professors andstudents, and I can say that there is hardly a department ofreligious studies in Western universities that teaches Islamwithout hammering its shari'a with the axe of so called“modernity,” so called “democracy,” and so called “HumanRights.” Our Muslim brothers and sisters who are enrolling inWestern universities are not acquiring the necessary Islamicknowledge and are graduating with doubts and then some areeven turning their weapons against Islam. Several graduatesfrom such schools are now professors occupying chairs ofIslamic studies in renowned Western universities often doingmore damage to Islam than the Orientalists.

Frankly, I consider studying Islam at Western universities similar

to studying Islam at Christian seminaries, or to be fair withChristians, like studying Christianity in Islamic colleges. Do youthink that a graduate from an authentic Islamic university with adegree in Christianity will be entrusted by the church as anauthority on Christian theology? Why, in our thirst for esteem (adegree) and money (a job) are we selling our Deen so cheaply?Most of the Muslim students who join departments of Islamicstudies in Western universities come back to us with questionswe would never have imagined anyone would pose. Thedangers that lie in enrolling in these departments also lie inseveral other departments in faculties of humanity, such asdepartments of philosophy and departments of social sciences.

In summary, it is extremely dangerous for Muslim students to

join such departments before getting deeply rooted in the studiesof Islamic theology, Law, the basics of Qur'an and hadithsciences, history, and purification of the heart. Only afterlearning these sciences will they have immunity against theatheists' attempts to pollute their minds. Studying Islamic Lawand any other Islamic subjects should be done in Islamiccolleges under the scholarship of the rightly guided ulama. Thereare many young Muslim students who, out of their love for theDeen and enthusiasm to support it, join departments of Islamicstudies at Western universities before studying the shari'a inmosques with the ulama. By doing so, they expose themselvesto the danger of being weakened in their faith and even losingtheir Deen.

I would like to take this opportunity to warn young Muslims

against taking courses in these departments. Only after they arewell trained in the sacred knowledge, and after they havegraduated from Islamic colleges or studied for a similar numberof years with the Ulama, could they join these departments withthe intention that, after studying their methodologies andarguments, they can encounter them and refute them.

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Question 6: by Imran

Dear Shaykh, Assalamualakium. Today in the UK and US many

financial institutions are offering 'Islamic home mortgages' whichgenerally take the murabaha method where the bank buys thehouse and sells it on to you for a monthly payment which isdependent upon time i.e. If you pay them over 5 years, their'profit' will be 5% per year and if you pay them over 10 yearstheir profit will be 7% per year. This to me is very similar to abank loan except that here the bank is getting involved in thepurchase of the house and not just dishing out a loan. Is it still, inyour opinion halal? They also say that the prophet (saw) allowedleasing in his time (how we lease cars today at a fixed APR rateover time). Is this true? Do you have any references where I canverify this and study the Islamic Economy, as it existed?

Answer:

Glory be Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. The above-mentionedinformation is not enough to issue a fatwa concerning themurabaha-based mortgage. A thorough look at the conditions ofa given contract is a pre-requisite for the determination of itslegality. Therefore, I would like to advise the brother to send us acopy of the proposed contract with all related information andgive us enough time to look at it. ('Aqd 'Ijarah) which means ingeneral terms a "rental contract" sometimes translated as lease,is one of the most common contracts in Fiqh with various pillarsand conditions that can be looked up in any basic manual ofFiqh. One of the basic conditions of the rent (namely the fee) in arental contract is that it must be defined and known so that thesum must be specified not a certain rate. The concept of a leasepurchase as practiced in real estate in the West has noantecedent in Fiqh and contradicts in principle the generalguidelines for legal contracts, e.g. two contracts in one.Therefore, we advise the questioner and all concerned people ofkeeping away from any mortgage contract that has not beenverified in detail by trustworthy scholars who went through all thearticles of the contract before determining its permissibility.

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Question 7: by Mushtaqur Rahman

When we are in certain work environments, e.g. hospital, it is

sometimes not possible to pray all five prayers on time, not justduring the winter months. Is it not better to join the relevantprayers (e.g. dhuhr and asr) than miss them? If one then findsthe time then one can repeat the particular prayer in itsappointed time?

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. "Allah does not taskany soul beyond her capacity". The five daily prayers must beperformed within the allocated time; the required time is notincluded in any working contract. If the working schedule doesnot permit the person to pray then the person must leave the joband look for another job that accommodates the prayers.Working on the account of prayer time does not generate moreincome, as it apparently looks, but rather more calamities. Theconditions of combining prayers are known in the books of Fiqh;working in a hospital is not one of them. One has to pray in time;if the prayer is missed then it has to be made up for, the impactof the sin is on the shoulder of the person who has to repent (dotawba) with the following conditions: 1- Immediate change ofworking timetable to fit in the prayers he is prone to miss. 2- Feelremorse about missing the prayers. 3- Determine not to miss anyprayer again. One exceptional case, however, has to bementioned in this context; it is the case of a medial doctor orassistant (e.g. nurse) and has to take part in a surgical operationthat may last for several hours and cannot leave the operation,the person has to do the work that involves saving life and makeup for the prayer he misses with no burden of sin in the delay.

Back to topQuestion 8: by Irfan Ahmed

Dear Shaykh, I am honoured to be able to ask such a great

scholar a question directly. My question relates to the Prophet(s.a.w.)'s parents.. I always believed that they would be forgivenas they had not received the message of Islam. However, abrother then posted me the following Hadith: "The following isfrom a book produced by Imam Anwar Al-Aulaqi, based upon IbnKathir's 'The Beginning and The End'. Anas narrated that a manasked: 'O Messenger of Allah, where is my father?' He replied:'In Hell-Fire'. Then when the man turned away, he (The Prophet(SAW)) called him and said: 'My father and your father are bothin hell.' Al-Bayhaqi stated after relating these traditions in hiswork Dala'il An-Nubuwah: 'And how would the father and grand-father of the Prophet (SAW) not be in such circumstancesregarding the hereafter when they used to worship idols untilthey died, and they did not follow the religion of Jesus Son OfMary, upon whom be peace.'" In addition I was posted thefollowing Hadith: Abu Huraira narrated: The Prophet (SAW)visited his mothers grave, and he wept and caused those withhim to weep too. Then he said, 'I asked my Lord's permission tovisit my mother's grave and He allowed me. I also asked hispermission to seek forgiveness for her, but He did not permit me.So do visit the graves, they will remind you of death. [Muslim]These Hadith were presented to me as evidence that theProphet (s.a.w.'s) parents are in the Hell-fire. I would reallyappreciate if you could tell me (with evidences please) what isthe correct opinion on this matter according Ahl us Sunnah walJamaah

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. First of all, I would liketo mention that the reliable opinion on the parents of the ProphetSalla Allah-u alayhi wa'aalihi wasallam is that they will survive onthe Day of Judgment and they will be in al-Jannah. One of themajor scholars of advocated this opinion is the great Hafiz al-Imam as-Suyoutiy in several works, one of them is Masaalikul-Hunafaa fee waaliday al-Mustafaa salla Allah-u alayhi wa'aalihiwasallam. It is included in a collection of his famous collection ofepistles known as "al-Haawee llifataawaa" published in twovolumes. It is also published separately in several editions.Another scholar is al-Imam Muhammad Ibn 'Abd ar-Rasoul al-Barzanjiy; he also compiled a work that has been recentlypublished, "Sadaad ad-Deen wa Sidaad ad-Dayn fee Najaatil -'Abawayn ash-Shareefayn. It is clear that the issue is of disputeand every proof present to support the opposite opinion isrefuted by method of exegesis, i.e. looking at its meaning as infather meaning uncle for instance, and by providingcounterproofs as well. In subject that relates to the Prophet sallaAllah-u 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wasallam, I advise the readers of takingheed to the works of the great later scholar, known as lover ofthe Prophet salla Allah-u 'alayhi wa 'aalihi wasallam, shaykhYousuf an-Nabhaaniy rahimahu Allah ta'aalaa (d. 1350H.). Hisbooks were well received and recommended by the foremostscholars of his time across the Islamic world. Concerning thequestioner's request of a proof, I would like to say that therequest is unusual and alien to the tradition of fatwa. The Mufti'sduty is to provide the ruling with a reference or withoutdepending on the case but not to deliberate on the proofs of it.However I would like to seize this opportunity to draw someguidelines for this questioner and others who represent a layer ofthe society that is known in the field of sacred knowledge as thecommons or "al-'awaamm". When faced by a legal or problem ordoctrinal misunderstanding, the job of the common is to first tolook for wherefrom he receives the answer, i.e. the source ofknowledge, and make sure that it is authentic and trustworthy;So ask the people of knowledge if you do not know) as in suratal-Anbiyaa'. By authentic I refer to the integrity of the chain of thescholar and by trustworthiness I refer to the loyalty to thedoctrine of ahlussunnah. Second, when getting the answerwhich may be difficult to understand, due to several reasons, theleast of which is the incapability of the questioner to comprehendthe answer, the questioner must listen and adhere withoutchallenging the authority as Allah subhaanahu wata'aalaadescribed the believers in the Noble Qur'an (we hear and weobey). If the questioner is ambitious to learn more about thesubject raised in the question he should change from a commonto a student of sacred knowledge, find a shaykh or more, andgradually and systematically develop his understanding of thedeen in a circle. The questioner should be satisfied with ananswer that points out to the reliable opinion or provides theruling and should also recognise his inability to make a judgmenton this subject due the long list of requirements in the field ofknowledge. The Western culture has changed Muslims' attitudetowards any religious issues from adherence to rebelliousness,from obedience to challenge and from following authorities toquestioning authorities. The result is that people now believethat every person must make his own judgment and form anopinion in a field of studies that would take a scholar twentyyears to be able to tread in with cautiousness and humility. TheWestern culture is built on rejection of faith, irrelevance ofrevelation, glorification of the human and the human authorityversus the Divine thus putting reason over text, which is thereason why we are witnessing this intellectual mess in theIslamic arena.

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Question 9: by Yusuf Smith

As-Salaamu 'Alaikum dear Shaikh. I have a question regarding

business ethics. I am intending to establish a cafe of some sortin London, basically a Halal variant on the espresso placeswhich have appeared in various parts of London. One of thesuppliers I have been considering is called Costa. This firm wasoriginally an independent family firm, but was taken over by acompany which at that time had a large interest in the alcoholicdrinks industry. However, that company has since divested itselfof these interests. Is it still acceptable to sell this company'scoffee?Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. The question that youshould be concerned about is not about the source of theincome of your coffee supplier but rather about the legality ofopening a café and still being an obedient servant of Allahwithout transgressing any of His boundaries. The way you putthe question appears to be trapping me into giving you a fatwathat implies that opening a café is permissible. However, thebest opinion I must have leads me to think that you arecompletely unaware of the issue and for you it is unquestionable,which shows how much of our actions we take for granted ashalal. Opening a café in is forbidden due to what accompanies itand to what it entails. A café is a place where people buy coffeeand sit to drink it. In the West, cafés are places of mixed genderswhere men and women sit at the same table. Often, lovers wouldsit together and God knows what they would be wearing andwhat they would be doing in that romantic place. If the café is forone gender, e.g. men, then the problem is worse. Do you thinkthat you can open such a place, and make halal business andgain halal income from hosting lovers and offering the half nakedpeople a shelter? I hope that you do not say that I want to makea halal café; as this in our time looks like carpeting the ocean.Do not think that opening a café for Muslims will make it halal, asa café is a usual place for gossip, where, men would sit by thesidewalk watching women by-passers, where men would sit toplay card, or backgammon both of which are forbidden and oftenthe café owner provides the cards and the tables. In the Islamiclaw, sitting in a café may invalidate a testimony of the witness. Iwould like to narrate a beautiful story that took place in ourfamily. One of my father's cousins some 60 years ago opened acafé. Knowing that a café at a time when cafés were not as badas they are now. My grandfather sayyid Ismael al-Yaqoubi, whowas a great waliyy and highly respected amongst the Maghribiminority in Syria, happened to pass by the place in as-Suwayqaquarter, he paused for a few seconds and angrily threw a glanceat the café then went on his way. His nephew, the café ownerwas not there at that moment, but when he came and was toldwhat Sayyid Ismael did, he immediately kicked people out, putthe chairs inside and closed down the café and never opened acafé again. I mention this story as I heard it from a cousin of myfather rahimahu Allah-u ta'aalaa, Abu 'Ali 'Abdo al-Yaqoubi. It isan example also of the society some sixty years ago, what theulema needed to do and the response of the commons and theirfear of Allah and shyness in front of Him. May Allah show mercyto those generations both the scholars and the masses andgrant our generation the love for Allah, the fear and shyness ofHim subhaanahu wata'aalaa. A person in your seriousnesslooking for the halal and investigating on the income of yoursupplier should not be involved in this business. I am sure thatyour reliance on Allah will be enough insurance for a prosperouslife. Remember what Allah ta'aalaa said, "whoever fears Allah[by abstaining from haram] he will provide him with a recourseand give him rizq from where he does not expect".

Back to topQuestion 10: by Anonymous questioner [withheld byLighthouse]

Asalamualikum. My question is a strange one. A few years ago I

was possessed by a jinn through black magic. I went to manyalims for treatment. In the end, I had to take medication. It wasquite bad. Alhumdulliah, I am better than before but not100%.the problem is that I still feel as though I am trapped in acage and every time I make an attempt to better my position forexample at work or sports or in deen I struggle. Its as if I can't besuccessful in life. I know this sounds strange but I struggle somuch with my self. I just don't know what to do. Somtimes I loseall hope and don't feel like praying.astagfurallah. Pls, can u helpme in someway, any sort of dhikr for sakoon. wassalam.

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. Two things Irecommend to you and to all people who have similar problems:first, there is book of du'a called al-Hisnul Haseen by the greatImam Ibn al-Jazariy Muhammad ibn Muhammad. Maintainreading it all around the weekdays. It contains Qur'anic andSunna du'a that protect from evil of jinn as well as the evil ofhumans from the Qur'an and from the Sunnah. Second, try tofind a weekly dhikr session around your area or even if inanother city and attend it regularly. The dhikr sessions and thecompany of the men of Allah both are inexpensive methods ofprotection. Mercy and tranquility come down from heavenstogether with angels to surround the people present in a dhikrsession. As the Prophet salla Allah-u alayhi wasallam says in asound hadith in Saheeh al-Bukhaariy narrated by Abu Hurayrahradiya Allah-u 'anhu describing a session of dhikr and a by-passer, "they are the people whoever sits with them will never beunder distress".

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Question 11: by Irfaan

Assalaam walaikum Shaykh, What should the Ahl As-Sunnah

stance be on the Ahl al-Bayt, and how does it differ with the Shiaassertion of Ismah (infallibility), how much love should webestow on them and is their maqam higher then the sahabah's?Also what about their assertion of praying on Turbah or naturalsurfaces is this a valid Fiqh opinion

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayer and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. The descendants ofthe Prophet Salla Allah-u alayhi wasallam through his twograndsons Sayyidunaa al-Hasan and Sayyiduna al-Husaynradiya Allah-u 'anhumaa are parts of the family of the Prophetsalla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam known in Arabic as ('Aal al-Bayt).The major reference to the rights of the family of the prophetSalla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam is in the Qur'anic verse, {Say, I donot ask you for any reward for IT [the Qur'an] except friendshipto my kin}. In addition to this verse there are several hadith thatspeak loudly of the rights the Prophet Salla Allah-u 'alayhiwasallam laid upon us concerning his family. These rights varyfrom love and respect to financial rights in the Public Funds.Love and respect for the family of the Prophet is one of thefeatures that distinguished the path of Ahlussunnah forcenturies. The books of Fiqh, history, biographies havecountless examples of the relationship between the Ulema and'Aal al-Bayt. The great Imam sidi Ahmad Zarouq wrote in his"Qawaa'id at-Tasawwuf" a principle on the love for the family ofthe Prophet; ash-Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyideen Ibn 'Arabiy wrote abeautiful section in his "Meccan Revelation" on 'Aal al-Bayt; bothelaborated on the special high rank of 'Aal al-Bayt and theirspecial merit on the Day of Judgment. Al-Qadi 'Iyaad rahimahuAllah quoted the various hadiths that compel Muslims to therights he salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam has upon us concerninghis family. A good reference on this subject is "ash-Sharaf al-Mu'abbad li-'Aali Muhammad" By shaykh Yousuf an-Nabhaaniy.On how much love we should have for them let me quote for youthis story that happened with me: One of the greatest Ulema andmen of Allah now in Damascus is shaykh Saleem al-Hammamiywho is 100 years of age, (at least). He is known for his extremelove for the family of the Prophet Salla Allah-u ‘alayhi wasallam.Upon one of my stays in Damascus in the beginning of this year(2002) I met him a few times during several dinners held by hissons, he told me twice that he wanted to see me alone. So, Iwent to visit him; in his room he gave a gift (a lot of money) andwanted me to give him my word that I would consider him part ofour family by saying (Saleem is one of us - the family of theProphet); he added that this will give him one hope for survivalon the Day of Judgment. When two scholars meet in a party, thescholar of 'Aal al-Bayt is always foremost. Niqabat al-Ashraafwas a special administration that handled the register, birth,death, geneologies and financial rights of 'Aal al-Bayt. Naqeebal-Ashraaf was the official title of the head of that administration.Formally, half a century ago, when the Mufti and Naqeeb al-Ashraaf met, the latter takes precedence over the former, e.g.Naqib al-Ashraaf on the right-hand side of the president and theMufti on the left-hand side. Ahlussunnah's love and respect for'Aal al-Bayt is immense and strong but not extreme so that itkept them within the tenets of the Deen. The extreme love theShee'as had for 'Aal al-Bayt led them to believe that they areimpeccable, a position they have held for centuries. In some oftheir most recent writings some prominent shi'i leaders make itpossible that some of the Imams of 'Aal al-Bayt may reach levelshigher in ranks than some prophets, which contradicts theIslamic dogma which states that messengers and then prophetsare the best of all humanity with no single exception. We love thefamily of the Prophet salla Allah-u alayhi wasallam for his sake,for the blood that runs in their veins, or if we may put it in modernscientific terms, for the genes they inherited from him. It issometimes difficult to stimulate this love for 'Aal al-Bayt whenpeople see the majority of them as ordinary people, lessrighteous than others, have no knowledge of the deen, withsome of them even getting far off the deen so they question thewhole principle. Had we loved them for their own sake we wouldbe excused if we disrespect them when they transgress; but welove them above all for the sake of their grandfather, andwhether they are righteous or sinful, they are his descendantsand he is still their grandfather. This is why one of the Algerianscholars, shaykh 'Ashour al-Khanqi, a devotee to the family ofthe Prophet salla Allah-u alayhi wa 'Aalihi wasallam wrote a bookon this issue under the title: "al-'Ithaaf bifadli 'Usaatil- Ashraaf". Icame across the title of this book several years ago and wasvery much interested in the life of the author; feeling compelledto be grateful to him on behalf of the living members of family ofthe Prophet Salla ‘alayhi-u 'alayhi wa 'Aalihi wasallam but thebook, in its lithographic one hundred year old edition is as rareas a manuscript. Two years ago, I visited Princeton Library in mysearch of some manuscripts on hadith and went to its Arabicprinted stocks and thought, not knowing where to start thesearch, I wondered how to find any rare book. To my surprise, Iwalked between the shelves and picked up one volume, the veryfirst and it was this book on 'Aal al-Bayt.

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Question 12: by Zia

As-Salam-u'Alaykum Wa Rahmatullah-e-Wa Barakathu, Is it

permissible for males to listen to the recitation of qasa'id sung byfemale voices?

Answer:

Glory be to and salutation are due to His Messenger salla Allah-

u 'alayhi wasallam. It is haram for men to listen to womensinging other than his wife and his mahaarim (women he ispermanently forbidden to marry). Listening to woman's voiceswhen they sing is a door to fitnah. There are enough malechanters.

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Question 13: by Abdul Qadir

Salaam. In terms of status who's is higher the Quran's or the

Prophet (pbuh).

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam; Al-Qur'an is in ahigher status than the Prophet is. Actually there is no way tocompare the Creator and His Attributes to the Created beings,not even to the Prophet himself. Every Muslim should be awareof the fact that the Qur'an is the Speech of Allah, which is one ofHis necessary Attributes. It is Pre-eternal, Everlasting, unlike thespeech of the created beings. The Prophet Salla Allah-u 'alayhiwasallam is the best of creation. I find it strange that a Muslim isposing this question about one of the most self-evident truths.One has to be cautious with maqam al-'Ulouhiyyah. I advise thebrother of studying with a trustworthy teacher a booklet on theIslamic Doctrine (‘Aqeedah) such as al-Fiqhul Akbar, at-Tahaawiyya, or as-Sanousiya.

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Question 14: by Asum Hanif

Asalam-o-alaikum. At one of your light study sessions, it was

mentioned that Muslims were allowed to give mortgages to non-Muslims and take interest, but not allowed to take mortgagesthemselves. At a later date, you explained that this is to deprivethe non-Muslim of wealth in this world. Hence, the question Ipose is, are we allowed to have interest bearing accounts andalso invest where we know there is a guaranteed element ofinterest to be generated to the policyholder from the varyingfinancial products?

Answer:

Glory be to and salutation are due to His Messenger salla Allah-

u 'alayhi wasallam. According to the Hanafi School, we areallowed to charge interest over a loan we give to a non-Muslim inthe non-Muslim land. Under no circumstances are we allowed toborrow money and pay it off with an interest, whether regardlessof the lender and the land; it is absolutely haram. As to the issueof putting our savings in an interest-based account in banks inthe West for example, it is a different issue from the issuespecified in the Hanafi books. According to the general rules ofFiqh in the Hanafi School, it is haram to give the non-Islamicbanks control over your wealth and allow. One may open anaccount to pay the monthly bills and run his business as requiredwithout leaving in the account any considerable sum. I haveelaborated on this issue in several lectures and I have written anepistle on it, so I will do with this now inshaa' Allah for theanswer.

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Question 15: by Amin Meah

AsSalamu Alaikum. What is the situation regarding buying a

house with a mortgage from say Barclays bank? Also I havebeen offered a job as a mortgage broker, is this halal for me?

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. Buying a house with amortgage, namely interest based loan, is haram. No madh-haballows borrowing money and paying interest neither from aMuslim nor from a non-Muslim. I have written a epistle on thissubject in Arabic that I will try to make available inshaa' Allah.

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Question 16: by Shafeeq Ulhaq

1) Can we insurance our house? 2) can you or person involve

make a claim on your car insurance?

Answer:

Insurance in general is haram. Contemporary scholars have

studied the subject. My father, the great 'Allamah shaykh Ibrahimal-Yaqoubi Rahimahu Allah wrote a work on insurance in theMuslim land and concluded that the only type of insurance thatcan be allowed is only pension. As to the non-Islamic land, withthe consideration of the different conditions the types ofinsurance that are halal are the following: health insurance,retirement plan, car insurance. As to home insurance and lifeinsurance, they are haram. Making reasonable claims withoutlying is permissible and money earned is halal. The reasoningand proofs of my opinion will be insha'a Allah published laterinsha'a Allah, people who attend my classes may pose thisquestion when it is appropriate for an elaboration.

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Question 17: by Abid Choudry

Is it permissible to examine women which may involve looking at

areas of the body which are unlawful for males, when training tobecome a doctor?

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. It is haram for a malestudent of medicine or a graduate doctor to examine a fit womanjust for the purpose of familiarising himself with certain parts of awoman. Such goals can be achieved through other illustrativemethods. If the woman is sick and needs treatment, it ispermissible for a student to examine her with his supervisor butnot for the whole class. Making the examination a show in aclass is haram and seizing sick women to expose them is haram.Muslims have observed ethics in medicine for centuries and theyshould continue this tradition.

Back to topQuestion 18: by Usman Ahmed

Aslamalaykum! I am a dentist student at Leeds uni. A lot my

friends and people I know go out clubbing and go out to parties ,and they are Muslims. I wanted to know if clubbing and going outto parties is acceptable in Islam, even when u don't drink orsmoke? Wsalaam.

Answer:

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. It is haram to attendsuch parties as mentioned in the question. Such parties are notfor Muslims. Muslims should keep away from places where non-Muslims meet, dance and drink alcohol. The number of theforbidden things committed when going to such clubs iscountless. It is enough that they spread darkness in the heartand make the heart of the mu'min indifferent to sins. There arevarious types of leisure activities allowed in Islam. One has to bewith righteous people whose company elevates and increasesthe imaan and benefits in the Hereafter.

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Question 19: by Miss Shireen Zaman

Bismillah; I wish to study the reasons for every ayah revealed in

the Qur'an but have no idea where would be the best place to dothis. Please, could you recommend a suitable place ? (I amdoing a degree in Arabic at the moment) jazakallah khayr

Answer

Glory be to Allah; prayers and salutations are due to His

Messenger salla Allah-u 'alayhi wasallam. The best method ofstudying this science is the find a teacher and study with him oneof the major texts written on this subject. Islamic colleges offer awhole package i.e. a curriculum that covers the most neededsubject for a student of sacred knowledge. The most circulatedreference on Asbaab an-Nuzoul is under the same title by al-Imam Jalaal ad-Deen as-Suyoutiy printed in one volume andincluded in several editions of tafseer al-Jalaalyn. There areother works for specialists. The large works of tafseer are goodauthority on the subject. One of the best in this regard is al-Jami'li 'Ahkaam al-Qur'an by al-Imam al-Qurtubiy Abu 'AbdillahMuhammad Ibn Ahmad printed in twenty volumes.